The other day I did a presentation about my work. It was basically a Pecha Kucha presentation, although we couldn’t call it that, as the term is trademarked. In case you don’t know how this type of presentation works, it consists of 20 slides and the presenter has exactly 20 seconds to speak to each slide. That is a bit of a challenge. 20 seconds is not very long. Anyway, it was a good exercise to revisit what I do with my Dedes and I will put up the presentation over the next month. The format is pretty much the format of my blog anyway. However, I might add more text than 20 seconds worth.

The title of the presentation was: Why I play with puppets.

I arrived at puppetry from the visual arts angle, not performance, and I immediately appreciated the use of my Dedes for self-exploration. For me, they are magical problem-solvers and I often call them my “voodoo dolls gone mellow.” Since Devil started his new job in an environment with a bullying culture, I have also became aware that these puppets are brilliant for developing emotional intelligence. This is a term I only discovered recently, but all of a sudden everything makes perfect sense.

Work is hell at the moment, but not one to complain I came up with an idea for the next puppet book. I would be interested are your Punch and Judy discussing daily life when they are sitting at the dinner table at night?

To be honest Mr P is a bit of a slob and likes nothing more than to sit in front of the TV with a beer (he also has smelly feet, but we won’t talk about that). Judy gets fractious if he does anything other than look after the baby – but wouldn’t you if you were the mother of a baby that hasn’t grown up in 350 years! Especially one that gets thrown down the stairs and lands in the toilet every night. Such is family life in the P&J household. The whole cast, howeever were interested that you are writing another puppet book and feel there can’t be too many of them. have a look at this site, it’s quite enlightening. https://vimeo.com/16027266

thanks so much for the link. That was what I needed this morning.
P&J’s household it totally different from the Dedes. Thank god they don’t have smelly feet (remember they are no bodies, ergo no feet either). Imagine 64 of these characters in a dark cupboard with smelly feet. I would have to move out :).
I am finally about to make the last changes to the cookbook this weekend and then it goes up for sale. Hurrah!!! And onto the next venture

The Dedes Recipe book has arrived and my wife is devouring it. I wish she would eat something else, so that I can still read it. If I rescue it we’ll be able to make fresh buns this weekend. Thankyou so much. How do I order them? You have solved my Christmas present list.

You are so funny, Tony!
The book is now available from CreateSpace (ID: 5700998) and, from next week onwards, you will also be able to get it from Amazon (ISBN-13: 978-1517167653). It costs US$ 22.50. (I believe shipment on Amazon is cheaper than CreateSpace. I know I shouldn’t say that, as I earn less from sales on Amazon :) .
And there are a few changes from the copy you have. So your one might become quite precious one day :) Keep it in mint condiditons!
The buns are my favourite recipe! Let me know how you get on.

Made the first batch of Best Buns this afternoon. It’s interesting it is so dry here that the dough took up nearly twice as much water as in the recipe. Our flour must be highly dessicated! Even then the buns although delicious were more dense than I’d expected. Next time I shall be more liberal with the water and they will rise more. But it’s a great start. And the Dedes make the point, it is important to experiment in order to get it right.Cheers! enjoy the remainder of the weekend.

That is really interesting feedback. And it takes my by surprise. How much and what type of yeast did you use?
My buns, although not as airy as in the shop, always come out light on the inside and crisp on the outside.
Mmhm your report makes me nervous now…. Maybe there are really too many differences in flour. Ah, did you use wholemeal only or a mix?

After your feedback, I asked my brother in Germany to bake the best buns. He used white flour and surprisingly had to take less water. But he is a German scientist and he doesn’t work with cups. Something might have been lost in translation here. So I am none the wiser :)
Dietlind

Yeah, my brother who has been in catering and hospitality all his career says you work with what feels good to you and add more or less water according to gut instincts (where’s the science in that?) But your comment in the book about experimentation till you get it right is probably the best advice. I’ll make it according to how my gut feels next time, and keep a note in the book as a reminder.